Losing Grip
by SCKX
Summary: Logan Bruno is losing his grip on life; his beloved daughter has just died. Can Mary Anne fill the hole in Logan's heart left by Rachel?Chapter 7 added: 21st Nov.
1. Chapter 1

Losing Grip  
  
Chapter 1  
  
As twenty-eight year old Mary Anne Spier walked down the familiar streets of Stoneybrook for the first time in 10 years, she smiled as she walked past all the familiar places where she and her friends had shared numerous happy moments together.  
  
She was walking past a newsstand, when a gust of wind blew a copy of The Stoneybrook Times right in front of her. Purely by coincidence, the wind had flipped the pages to the obituary page. Mary Anne's eye happened to glance at a name.  
  
Rachel Bruno  
  
Bruno.  
  
The name seemed vaguely familiar. Mary Anne continued reading . . .  
  
Below the picture of a young girl, were these words:  
  
Rachel Bruno  
  
Age: 6  
Was called home to the Lord on 29 July 2003,  
Leaving behind loved ones:  
Grandmother: Mabel Williams  
Grandfather: David Bruno  
Father: Logan Bruno.  
Mother: Allison Hart  
  
Logan Bruno.  
  
Mary Anne gasped. Logan Bruno had been her boyfriend way back in the eighth grade, and some of high school.  
  
"Hey, miss, if you wanna keep that paper, you gotta give me sixty cents." Growled the man in charge of the stand.  
  
"Oh, ah, sure," replied Mary Anne as she fished through the coins in her purse to get the correct change. "Here you are. 'Bye."  
  
When she reached her house, the one in which her father and stepmother lived in, she hurried to what used to be her room and opened the newspaper to the obituaries again.  
  
" . . .Friends and relatives are welcome to the wake and funeral service . . ."  
  
After checking the address of the wake, Mary Anne grabbed her handbag and headed for the address stated.  
  
She was going to Logan Bruno's house.  
  
Her married ex-boyfriend's house.  
  
The end  
  
Hello everyone. Thanks for reading my story! I hope you liked it and about to review t, too.  
  
If I got Logan's parent's names wrong, sorry, because I don't know what their names are, so I'm making their names up.  
  
The title Losing Grip comes from Avril Lavigne's song, losing grip. The lyrics of the song just matched what Logan will be saying to Mary Anne in the next one or two chapters.  
  
I'm writing this story because I've got a long wait for the time when I can write about braces again. 


	2. Chapter 2

Losing Grip  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Mary Anne walked slowly towards Logan's house. As she walked, she remembered all the fun time's she'd had with Logan, and all the rough patches, too. Walking through Stoneybrook again after so long was just like flipping through a journal full of pictures . . . full of memories . . .  
  
"Courteous? Who are you? Miss Manners?"  
  
"I want to break up with you,"  
  
"Good-bye, Logan,"  
  
"Good-bye, Mary Anne."  
  
"Do you want to go out again sometime?"  
  
"Yes, on a real date. I still care about you, Mary Anne."  
  
Reaching the house interrupted Mary Anne's thoughts. As she ascended the porch steps, she took a deep breath. She let it out as she pressed the doorbell.  
  
In approximately 2 minutes, she heard shuffling of feet, and then the twisting of the knob. Finally a face appeared at the door. It was Logan's. And even though looking a bit more mature and unkempt, he still looked like the Logan of eighth grade.  
  
He stared at her blankly and finally swallowed hard and asked, "Mary Anne?"  
  
I decided to kid about it and said, "Yes, Logan, it's me, Mary Anne. Can't you recognize your old girlfriend? What a short memory you have."  
  
"Of course I recognize you, Mary Anne. But . . . what are you doing here? I thought you were still in NYC."  
  
"I was. But now I'm not. I'm going to start teaching at SMS in two weeks time. And you? What job have you got?"  
  
"Come in and we'll talk."  
  
"Alright," Mary Anne replied, warily. She was afraid of meeting his wife. What would she say to her? She was only his ex-girlfriend, after all.  
  
When they were comfortably seated at the kitchen, Mary Anne tried again, "So, what job have you got other than being a husband and being a fa- father?" She knew the words "being a father" would hurt him because he was no longer a father, because his daughter was dead.  
  
There was a silence, and finally Logan replied, taking a sip of coffee from the cup in front of him, "I'm a therapist working with the ARC. I'm on leave at the moment, and I have to get back to my special ed. Kids the Monday after the funeral." Logan took a deep breath and said, "And, I'm not married."  
  
~End of chapter 2~  
  
Next chapter summary: How will Mary Anne react to Logan's not being married? Will she be happy, knowing that Logan could be hers anytime? Or will she be angry that he had a daughter without even getting married? Find out in the next chapter . . .  
  
ARC, in case you're wondering, stands for Autism Research Centre. As you can tell from it's name, it's an organization where they research autism and some other mental disabilities (e.g. Selective mutism, Downs syndrome, and many more.), and they also give therapy to disabled children. They use trained therapists (not terrapins), like what I'm making Logan, in this story. My brother is an autistic, and used to go for therapy with them. Now he goes to a different place. If you want to learn more about it you can go to their website I think this is it, but I'm not very sure, so the next time I update I'll give it to you guys: . Look it up in Yahoo.com, or email me with questions at sckx_92@hotmail.com. I can't promise to answer all your questions because I'm only knowledgeable in Downs syndrome, Dyslexia, selective mutism and autism. But I'll try my best. I'll even ask my brother's therapist. I think it's important to educate the world about these disorders. Here are the basics of Autism:  
  
Autism is a disorder of the brain where there is this thick film clouding over the cerebellum, which is a part of the brain that controls balance, posture and coordination. It is not developed properly, either. For example, compare my brother and me. When I look at a picture, I see the whole thing, whereas for my brother, he would see the picture, but with lots of holes in it. The brain not being able to process the information given by the eye causes this. Since the cerebellum is under developed, he is unable to balance on a bike, aim a ball at a target, or even sit up straight. It is hard for them to do work, because the brain is unable to process the information. This also affects his speech, as, once again, their brains cannot process what he is actually trying to say. It instead comes out all jumbled up. In a way he is like Mimi. I hope you all understand what autism is, after reading this. I also hope that if you have any kids in your school like this, you will stop bullying them (if you are) after reading this. If you can't seem to grasp it correctly, email me and I'll get my mum or the therapist to explain it clearly to me, and then I'll email you with the info.  
  
Also, here is another fact about autism: Asperger's syndrome, which is only a higher level of autism (better balance, posture and coordination), is actually quite common. Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Jamie Newton (jut kidding, Isaac Newton), and many other scientists and inventors were or are Asperger's. And here's one about dyslexia: Lee Kuan Yew, the Senior Minister of Singapore is Dyslexic. And I'm mildly dyslexic. But hey, don't get me wrong, but I'm glad I'm not one of those severely dyslexic. I'm so mildly dyslexic it only shows itself rarely. Sometimes I can write 'the' as 'h(t', or the letter 's' upside down, or something like that. Gets frustrating for me even, so I can imagine how it must be for the severely dyslexic. Please R/R my story!!!  
  
I'll only be updating on either weekends or Friday nights, so you might want to check for updates on Saturdays, Sundays or Mondays. For "Mal's Braces", I'll give you the rough dates of the appointments, so you can expect them the Monday following the appointments. All this is because school is re-opening!!!( You guys in America are so lucky! You get 3 MONTHS off from school while we Singaporeans only get 3 WEEKS!!!!  
  
P.S.: Ballet Princess, you've somehow figured it out. The name 'Rebekah' will be in a later part of the story. 


	3. Chapter 3

Losing Grip  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Why should I care?  
Cuz you weren't there,  
When I was scared, I was so alone.  
You, you need to listen,  
I'm starting to trip,  
I'm losing my grip,  
And I'm in this thing alone.  
  
"You're not married!!!" exclaimed Mary Anne, "Then what Kristy said about you having casual sex with a different girlfriend every weekend was true, huh?"(A/N: This bit is adapted from a part of Ballet Princess's 'Reflections')  
  
Logan stared blankly at Mary Anne and exclaimed, "Kristy said WHAT?"  
  
"Err, so, the rumors aren't true?"  
  
"No, they aren't true."  
  
"Then how can you not be married, and yet have a daughter?"  
  
"Ever heard of the word 'Divorce', Mary Anne? Well, that's exactly what happened."  
  
"Really?! Why?"  
  
"Yeah, it's real, and the reason was-was Rachel . . ."  
  
"Oh, Logan, why didn't you tell me?"  
  
"I did. And what did you do about it? Nothing." Logan said bitterly.  
  
Mary Anne pondered for a while. Suddenly she remembered receiving a letter from Logan telling her about the divorce. And it was true. She didn't do much about it, just wrote a short letter back saying sorry and that she wished she could have come, but she was having exams and all that.  
  
"But you didn't state why. If I had known maybe I'd have come. I mean, when Kristy's parents got divorced, I don't think their ex-boyfriends or girlfriends came down. The reason was a simple 'I-don't-love-you-anymore' matter. I assumed the same reason was the cause of your divorce. It's kind of common, you know. If you had told me why, and there was a reason worth skipping a day of college, I would come after the exams. After all, NYC is a four hour drive away," Mary Anne argued.  
  
"What does the reason have anything to do with it? You could have come on a Saturday or Sunday, that wouldn't be skipping school. It's a simple matter of whether you still care about me. I was all alone, with nobody's shoulder to cry on. When I needed you the most, were you there? No. You weren't." Logan accused.  
  
" But aren't I here now? Isn't this also one of the hardest moments of your life?"  
  
"Yes," Logan said slowly, "Alright, alright, let's focus on now and not the past." He continued, raising his hands as if to surrender.  
  
"Ok,"  
  
"You're here to see Rachel, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Then go see her."  
  
Mary Anne and Logan got up from their chairs and walked into the living room . . .  
  
Mary Anne gazed at a little girl in a cream-coloured dress in the picture, who was smiling. She was in a background of beautiful white rose bushes.  
  
"Whose garden is that?" she asked curiously.  
  
"Rachel's . . ." Logan said in a far away voice as he gazed at the face in the coffin.  
  
"Rachel's?"  
  
"Yeah, We bought the bushes in last spring, when she was five. They were in full bloom the day before she passed away. That was when she saw them for the last time before going to the hospital. Now," Logan paused " they're all withered. Yesterday, after Rachel's passing, they died. It was as if they'd died with Rachel . . ."  
  
Tears were welling up in The World's Teariest Person, Mary Anne Spier's eyes as Logan told his story. Logan, too, was on the verge of crying.  
  
"Hospital?" asked Mary Anne in a shaky voice,  
  
"She had cancer, Mary Anne. That's why Allison left. She didn't want the responsibilities of taking care of a cancer-patient. And she couldn't handle the fact that Rachel had leukemia."  
  
"Oh," Mary Anne replied, using a tissue to dab her eyes, " Well, uh, I think I'll be going now . . . 'Bye."  
  
"'Bye, Mary Anne, and thanks."  
  
"You're welcome, and see you at the funeral on Saturday."  
  
After Mary Anne left, Logan gazed out of his kitchen window at the rose bushes full of withered flowers . . . he thought about Rachel's passing . . .  
  
/flashback/  
  
"Listen, Daddy, the angel's calling me. Can you hear him, Daddy?"  
  
"No,"  
  
"But Daddy! He's calling me. He said that God has a place for me in heaven, and wants me to go now."  
  
"No, Rachel, you're daydreaming."  
  
"I'm not, daddy! He's calling me!"  
  
"He's not, so go to sleep now, Rachel."  
  
"Okay, daddy, but he's really calling me to go with him!"  
  
"No, Rachel, you're imagining things,"  
  
"I'm not, but okay, I'll go to sleep now."  
  
"Good girl, Good night, Rachel."  
  
"Good night, Daddy. I love you. Take care of my roses, Daddy . . . I'll see you in heaven, daddy. The angel's lifting me, now. He's taking me to heaven . . .to be with Jesus, up in heaven. See you, daddy . . ."  
  
"Rachel! Don't spout nonsense! You're just drea . . . (realizes Rachel is not breathing) No! Rachel!!!"  
  
"BEEP! BEEP!" (Logan pressing the button to call the doctor)  
  
"THUMP! THUMP!" (Doctor and nurses running in at Logan's urgent call)  
  
"Get the heart resuscitator!" (Doctor instructing nurse)  
  
"Ziiiiiii! DOOMP! (Pause) Ziiiiiiii! DOOMP! (Pause) Ziiiiiii! DOOMP!"  
  
"Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" (Machine being switched off after numerous tries. Nurse puts away H.R.)  
  
"I'm sorry Mr. Bruno, but we did all we could . . . but we couldn't revive her."  
  
/end flashback/  
  
Logan sighed again. Why had all these things chosen him as the sole victim?  
  
~End of chapter 3~  
  
Hallo everybody, here is the next chapter's summary: At the funeral, Mary Anne meets Logan's ex-wife, who starts acting all lovey-dovey with Logan again because Rachel's gone, and she knows she won't have to take care of her if she re-marries Logan. Will the little green devil rear his ugly head?  
  
Okay, hope you liked this chapter! School's in my schedule now and the teachers are piling homework on us as if there's no tomorrow to give it to us! ~Sigh~ this chapter was kinda sad, wasn't it? Also, I'm not sure how the heart resuscitator works, so I'm making it up. The only thing I'm sure of is its name and the sound it makes! Another thing: I've just tightened my braces and am about to update my other story, so if you haven't already read and reviewed it, please do so!  
  
P.S: As I said earlier, I adapted the second line from Ballet Princess's story "Reflections". A book by Karen Robards, "The midnight hour", inspired the bit on roses and angels and a little bit of the last chapter, which I already have plotted out in my head.  
  
P.P.S.: Please read and review!!! 


	4. Chapter 4

Losing Grip  
  
Chapter 4  
  
"Logy!" someone cried, "Logy! Here!"  
  
Allison. Thought Logan with a sigh. She is the only one who calls me 'Logy'.  
  
Logan turned around to see his ex-wife waving at him from the front row of the church, patting the seat next to her with her other arm.  
  
Logan sighed and began walking there. A voice suddenly came up from behind him.  
  
"I thought you had better taste than that, Logan."  
  
"Mary Anne!" He cried as he recognized the voice.  
  
"Hi, Logy," said Mary Anne, teasingly.  
  
"Whatever. Anyway, yes, I do have better taste, just that when I first met her she was nothing like this."  
  
"Oh, no wonder you divorced her."  
  
"I didn't divorce her. She divor-"  
  
"Logy! It's starting already!"  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure . . . just a second, Allison." Logan replied, "'bye Mary Anne, see you later."  
  
"Yeah. 'Bye."  
  
When the service started, Mary Anne looked at Logan. She saw Allison glance at her, then slip her arm around Logan. Mary Anne shook her head and paid attention to the pastor.  
  
" . . .Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  
  
Mary Anne glanced at Logan, and as if on cue, Allison pecked Logan on the cheek and snuggled closer to Logan. Mary Anne could see that Logan was trying in vain to get out of Allison's grasp. When Mary Anne began to listen again, the Pastor had reached the 6th Beatitude.  
  
" . . . Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see GOD."  
  
That was Rachel. Pure in heart, Mary Anne thought as she glanced at Logan, and as she was, he was crying buckets.  
  
Finally the pastor said, "And now we will allow Rachel's father; Logan Bruno to share with us a bit about her."  
  
All through Logan's speech, Allison was sitting there with a smiling face, as though the death of her daughter didn't affect her. Mary Anne, on the other hand, was crying even more buckets. If she had measured all the tears she had cried, she would find that she had cried about 5 buckets!  
  
When Logan finished, it was Allison's turn to go up and give her speech.  
  
All throughout her speech, she kept saying sweet things, and she had he gaze fixed on Logan, who was ignoring her. Mary Anne was sure that she wanted Logan back.  
  
And she was JEALOUS. Jealous that Allison was Logan's ex-wife. Jealous that Logan had chosen Allison over her. The little green devil was controlling her now. She felt like going up to Allison and saying "Logan's mine!".  
  
"Mary Anne!" Logan called, putting her thoughts to an abrupt stop. "Come on, Allison's gone."  
  
"Huh? What?"  
  
"Allison left to take the plane to California. Business trip. She has a meeting as soon as she touches down at the airport. Come on!"  
  
"Come on what?"  
  
"Watch Rachel ascending up to heaven in smoke," said Logan in a far away voice as he stared at the men carrying the coffin onto the trolley to be cremated.  
  
"Oh,"  
  
Mary Anne held Logan's hand throughout the cremation and the scattering of the ashes at the sea.  
  
She felt so much closer to Logan then she ever had been. Much closer that when they were in eighth grade and were official girlfriend-boyfriend.  
  
As Mary Anne got into the passenger seat of Logan's car (He was sending her home), she notice Logan's wallet fall out of his pocket and open. In a transparent compartment was a picture of her and Logan at Sea City.  
  
"You still have this picture?" she asked ridiculously  
  
"Yeah, do you?"  
  
"Well, yeah, but it's at home on my bedside table."  
  
"Oh. I used to put a picture of me and Allison there, but there was no love in that relationship, so no point in putting it there." He said, with a shrug.  
  
"Oh? So there's love in this one, then? You've got a picture of us there." Mary Anne answered, jokingly. Little did she expect Logan to answer her question in the way he did . . .  
  
"Maybe there is," he said  
  
Then he kissed her.  
  
It had been something Mary Anne had been hoping for, since seeing Allison and Logan together, but now, things were just a bit different. Now she just sat there in utter disbelief.  
  
~End of yet another part~  
  
Hallo, all, I'm amazed at the amount of reviews that came in such a short time. Thank you, all! 


	5. Chapter 5

Losing Grip  
  
Chapter 5  
  
A/N: My italics don't seem to work, so I put them in caps, if you don't mind.  
  
"Hot chocolate for you, Mary Anne?"  
  
"Yes, please," Mary Anne replied as she followed Logan into his kitchen. It was two weeks after THE KISS and Mary Anne had "gotten over" the kiss.  
  
Suddenly, the shrill ring of the doorbell made them jump. Logan scalded himself as he was pouring hot water into the cups when the doorbell rang.  
  
"Will you get that please, Mary Anne?" Logan asked as he held his scalded finger under the running tap water.  
  
"Sure," Mary Anne replied, hurrying out of the kitchen.  
  
Before Mary Anne could say "Hi." to the person she had opened the door to, the person had charged right in, without so much as a "Hello." or "Thank you.".  
  
Her frizzy blonde hair was unmistakable.  
  
It was Allison, and now she was shouting to Logan.  
  
As she closed the door she could hear Logan coming out from the kitchen.  
  
"Hi . . . Allison. What-"  
  
"Hi, Logy," she said briskly, "I would like to ask, what is SHE doing here?" she asked, pointing at Mary Anne.  
  
"This is Mary Anne, Allison. Mary Anne, Allison." Said Logan, as if ignoring Allison's question.  
  
"I know, Logy. Can you imagine how many times I've come across her name- and her pictures- in that old journal of yours?" asked Allison, "And, you still haven't answered my question. What is she doing here?"  
  
"What's wrong with her being here?" Logan countered, "Is her presence disturbing or of any threat to you?"  
  
"No!" said Allison, a note of shock clear in her voice, "I'm your wife, and she's not. Why are you allowing her in our house?"  
  
"No, you're my ex-wife. I repeat, EX-wife. And this is MY house, so I have the right to invite whoever I want into my house."  
  
Allison became a deathly pale as Logan uttered his last sentence with such ease.  
  
"Well, if you'll excuse us," Logan said in an extremely calm tone as he headed for the door, pulling Mary Anne along with him. Mary Anne had no choice but to be dragged along like a Raggedy-Ann doll.  
  
"Where?" asked Allison in a voice so soft you could hardly hear her, "Where are you going with her?"  
  
"Out," Logan replied simply, "You said I wasn't allowed to bring her home, so we'll just go to her house,"  
  
"I didn't! I didn't!" Allison exclaimed, "I just- just- Mom told me she saw you KISS her after the funeral. I couldn't believe it, so I came here to ask you about it. Then- then I saw both of you here and- and . . ."  
  
"And you thought that if you came in and tried to confront Logan, everything would be okay, and Logan would be yours again, right? Poor, poor Allison," said Mary Anne, putting her arm around Allison comfortingly.  
  
"Yes, but I don't want sympathy, particularly if it's from you, Mary Anne, the source of this all." She replied, pushing Mary Anne's arm away.  
  
Though stung by the words, she tried again, "Life isn't so easy, Allison. Not everything goes the way you want it to go. But you've got to accept all the things that happen. If you expect everything to go the way you want it to, you're going to live a life full of regret and sadness and hurt." She put her arm around Allison again, only to be brushed off once again.  
  
"This isn't the last you'll see of me," Allison threatened, as she ran her forearm over her eyes, grabbing her handbag with the other, and stormed out of the door.  
  
~END OF THIS CHAPTER~  
  
Initial A/N: Hi! Thanks for all the reviews! I hope you like this chapter! It was up on the review page a couple of days ago because there was something wrong with the document manager. It wouldn't let me upload the story. *shrug* Anyway, I decided to put it up via the review page so that you all could read it. I know you've been waiting . . . :D  
  
New A/N: If you have been reading the updates on the first page you see when you enter FF, you'll find one which reads, "If the story you have submitted earlier in the week is currently displaying weird characters in place of proper punctuations, please resubmit them to the Document Manager and use the Replace feature within Edit to resolve this issue." So that's what I'm doing. I replaced the strange symbols with the correct punctuation. Anyway, those who couldn't really understand it before, here's the improved version. I apologize to you all.  
  
Just a reminder: Allison is meant to be unlikable.  
  
Next chapter: Allison tries to badmouth Mary Anne. Will Logan be gullible enough to believe her?  
  
In answer to your reviews:  
  
Banana Split: Am I considered fast? Actually, I began writing the first 2 chapters before actually posting the first chapter, thus making it quite fast. I'm a bit behind time, though. I may need a bit of extra time to think about the sixth chapter and how Allison will badmouth Mary Anne.  
  
Fred . . .: Uh, really? Thanks. *mumble, mumble*  
  
Kathleen Emerson: I know it's a bit unbelievable, but well, it's fiction. I couldn't find any other way to express it other than being unbelievable.  
  
SUNNYEXISTENCE: Shall I *somehow* add you to the story so you can strangle Allison? :D  
  
CNJ: People change from the ages 13 - 28. But I guess you're right. I just had this idea in my head, and the only "couple" I knew enough about to write a story was Mary Anne and Logan.  
  
Teacherchez: That's me. My dyslexia is so mild it's barely noticeable to me. But it could be of some help to me if I lived in America, though. Singaporeans write the date as dd/mm/yy, while the Americans write it as mm/dd/yy. Heh. It wouldn't matter if I wrote the date the wrong way around there, as I've been known to do here.  
  
Rest of you: Yes, I'll be continuing the story, as you can see. Thanks for reviewing! 


	6. Chapter 6

Losing Grip  
  
Chapter 6  
  
"Logan!" Logan heard someone call his name as he walked to the Rosebud Café.  
  
He turned and saw Cary Retlin waving at him.  
  
"Hey, Cary!" he replied, waving.  
  
"Where're you heading to?" Cary asked when he caught up with Logan.  
  
"The Rosebud Café."  
  
"Me too." Cary replied as they walked towards the café.  
  
They continued gossiping and talking. But suddenly Cary said something that made Logan open his ears real big.  
  
"Did you hear about prostitute Mary Anne?" Cary asked with a laugh, "Who'd have thought that shy little Mary Anne would be in that sort of a business?"  
  
"Prostitute?" Logan asked in disbelief.  
  
"No? You haven't heard? She's going around New York doing it, I heard."  
  
"But she's in town now, haven't you seen her?"  
  
"No. Been out of town the last month or so. Oh yeah, I'm sorry about Rachel."  
  
"Thanks. How'd you find out about Mary Anne being a prostitute?" Logan asked; taking a sip of the coffee the waiter had put in front of him.  
  
"Well, I would have thought your ex-wife would have told you," Cary said shrugging, "but she didn't."  
  
"Allison? You mean Allison told you that?" Logan asked, almost spitting out the coffee he had just sipped.  
  
"Yeah." Cary said with a puzzled look, "Why are you so worried about Mary Anne?"  
  
"Because," Logan began, "We got back together?"  
  
"Oh." Cary said in a carefree manner, "You going to keep her?"  
  
"Well, I don't believe you," Logan said, frowning, "so I guess I will."  
  
Logan glanced at his watch, and quickly said, "I've got to go now, Cary. Thanks! Bye!"  
  
He didn't have to go, but he wanted to have some time to think and ring Allison before he rushed off to his office at 1.00 p.m. to work with Jeremy, an 8-year-old autistic boy.  
  
Once he got into his house, he went into the den, seated himself comfortably on the sofa, and picked up the receiver. He began dialing Allison's number. KL-562-4430. Briiing . . .Briiing.Briing . . .  
  
The conversation:  
  
Logan: Hello? Allison, it's me, Logan.  
  
Allison (in flirtatious voice): Oh, hi, Logy,  
  
Logan: I'm not talking you into a date or something, so forget about that voice. I want to talk to you about Mary Anne.  
  
Allison: The prostitute? Sure,  
  
Logan: She isn't a prostitute. It's just a rumor you made up!  
  
Allison: Me?  
  
Logan: Yea, you. You made up that rumor and spread it. I want to know three things; why, when and who.  
  
Allison: I don't know. I didn't spread it!  
  
Logan: Yes you do.  
  
Allison: Fine. Why: to deter you from her. When: Yesterday. Who: Cary Retlin, Cokie Mason and Alan Gray.  
  
Logan: Oh, God. Cokie Mason? Why'd you have to tell her, Allison?  
  
Allison: Because she would spread it like wild fire.  
  
Logan: Go to hell.  
  
Allison: Fine! I apologize.  
  
Logan: Don't apologize to me! Apologize to her! And I want you to go to each of those three fire starters and tell them that the rumor is not true.  
  
Allison: Whatever you want, Logy.  
  
Logan: Don't call me Logy.  
  
When Logan finally puts down the phone, he realized it was 12:45. Logan grabs his stuff and runs out of the front door, jumps into his car and zooms off.  
  
He was going to have to tell Mary Anne later, he thought as he gritted his teeth and cursed under his breath. 


	7. Chapter 7

Losing Grip  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Author's note: Hello, again! Sorry for the long wait in terms of updating. I have been really busy the past 2-3 months. Not only were there final-year exams (very important), there were also some pretty complicated family matters. So now I present you the 7th chapter. Also, for those waiting for me to update "Mallory's Braces", I will do so in December (I still haven't got the bands so I will consult my dear brother for help). This month I will try and concentrate on updating "Losing Grip" and hopefully finishing it.  
  
Logan sat in his kitchen, gazing out the window at the wilted rose bushes. He sighed. Everything was happening at once. Rachel's death, Mary Anne's sudden appearance and the rumor . . . He banged a fist against the table in frustration and cursed. Cried.  
  
Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. He looked up, brushed his sleeve across his face in attempt to remove the wetness of the tears he had cried. He stood up and went to the door just as the knob turned and Mary Anne emerged in the doorframe.  
  
"Mary Anne?"  
  
"Yeah, it's me. I brought you some dinner."  
  
"Oh, okay. Um, there's something you need to know . . ."Logan began.  
  
"Lets talk about it over lunch then. Food isn't tasty served cold."  
  
Mary Anne began taking out take-away boxes of pasta and setting them on the table as Logan continued his sentence. "It's about Allison. She's been spreading rumors." He paused to let it sink in.  
  
"What kind of rumors?" Mary Anne asked, biting her lip in blatant worry.  
  
"Well . . ." Logan began, "You're not going to like this."  
  
"Go on."  
  
"Allison has told Cary Retlin, Alan Gray and Cokie Mason that you're a prostitute."  
  
The blood drained away from Mary Anne's face. "No. You've got to tell them that it isn't true!"  
  
"I've called Allison and she promised to tell them that it isn't true. I don't know how many people know about it other than those three. However, if I heard correctly, Cokie is out of town for the next few days. I'm not sure where she went, but hopefully it's a place where no one knows who Mary Anne Spier is."  
  
"What about Cary?"  
  
"I called him this morning and he said that he hadn't told anybody other than me. So he's OK."  
  
"Alan?"  
  
"Well, I called his home yesterday and Kristy said he was out. She promised to talk to him about it so our only real problem is Cokie Mason."  
  
Mary Anne nodded, her face as pale as a sheet just out the wash.  
  
Logan gazed out of the window just as a star dropped out of the sky and died. He hoped with all his heart that it wasn't an omen of the events to come. 


End file.
